Song of the Day: The Crayon Fields – Mirror Ball

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we deliver songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters, is “Mirrorball” by The Crayon Fields from the 2009 album All The Pleasures Of The World on Chapter Music.

If this song doesn’t shake you from the cold grasp of winter, I don’t know what will. The Crayon Fields, a Melbourne-based four-piece, have created in their second album a much-needed escape to a time and place where everything is sunnier and when love from afar still means a world of possibilities. It’s an idealistic album in the best of ways, as it dips into past to sample the brightest moments of rock’s history. On the aptly titled All The Pleasures Of The World, The Crayon Fields revel in reverb-laden surf guitar, Beach Boys-inspired harmonies, early Belle & Sebastian-styled twee, swirls of dream pop and psychedelic rock, all while showing not the slightest ounce of cynicism or world-weariness and without sounding hopelessly naïve.

The album’s first track, “Mirror Ball,” a song that eschews cowbell for woodblock, is a quite a step away from Neil Young’s song of the same name, and showcases the band’s retro sound, with its Dick Dale-inspired opening riff, the nimble fingerpicked 60’s guitar melody, and Geoff O’Connor’s wistful vocals. It’s really not hard to scenario of the song’s lyrics — “You are still my high mirror ball / I look at you and suddenly I’m a virgin in a dance hall” — as a room of swaying couples, of men in light colored suits and women with upswept hair, with the band — O’Connor (vocals and guitar), Brett Hudson (bass), Chris Hung (guitar, synthesizer and percussion), and Neil Erenstrom (drums) — in sharp, black coats and ties, meticulously lined up across the stage. It’s practically your parents’ prom night!

If you want to relive the past with The Crayon Fields, you’ll have to wait for a bit. Currently, they’re performing just a handful of shows in Australia with Wild Beasts and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Yet, while they haven’t officially announced anything as of now, they do plan to perform in the U.S. for SXSW, so perhaps an American tour will follow. Check out their MySpace page for updates. For now, here’s their new video for “Mirror Ball”: